Combat Tips

Here is some general advice that can help you at nearly every skill level.

• Prepare to die a lot: You’re going to lose. There’s no helping this, especially early on. Getting hit by enemies at your level is a painful mistake that you cannot easily recover from. Getting hit on Perilous-level missions can mean an instantly downed mage or rogue.
• Bring a defensive ability: If you’re a warrior, you should have some skill that can help you build guard. If you’re a rogue, an evasive technique will keep you alive should the enemy get too close. Mages should have either one of the teleport abilities or a Barrier skill to protect themselves and their allies.
• Communicate: Don’t be shy! Battlefield awareness relies on more than just looking at your mini-map for enemy locations. Call out important threats. Designate what needs to die first.
• Have patience: Don’t rush at the enemy blindly! You need to pull groups into areas that force them through traps you’ve set, into tight spaces where you can catch multiple enemies in AoE attacks, into areas that force marksmen to come to you rather than shoot you easily from afar.
• Use choke points: Every area has them, and you should use them. You simply can’t expect to survive by standing in the open and taking attacks from all directions. Get to a place that forces enemies to funnel past a warrior in a confined space where the party can drop AoE attacks and debuffs.
• Rogues solve problems: Rogues can put down a single target very quickly, and so they should spec themselves accordingly. Prime targets for a rogue are marksmen, red templar shadows, and Venatori scouts, and these problems should be “solved” very quickly.
• Keepers keep parties keepin’ on: Early on, the Keeper is the only mage you have, and her Barrier skill is incredibly important. The Keeper is still valued as a party member later in the game, able to keep the group standing in the worst fights imaginable. Get acquainted with this valuable member of the team.
• Four Keepers? It’ll never work: Building a balanced party is the difference between victory and defeat. While it is possible to succeed with gimmick groups, like four assassins, that depends heavily on player skill and a lot of luck. A balanced group that has at least one warrior, mage, and rogue, with the fourth character doubling up on one of those classes, is the best. Plus, you need at least one of each class to get past the various “class doors” you’ll encounter during an operation.